Ways Exeter residents can enjoy a game of bingo, even during lockdown

When you think about bingo, you might immediately think of blue-haired women gathering to play their weekly game and gossip. And while it’s true that more women than men are generally attracted to the game, it’s actually popular across all age groups!

Bingo is one of the few social activities that it’s possible to take part in while maintaining social distancing, without altering the whole experience. It’s a great way to have some fun, feel a sense of community and maybe even make some new friends.

Mecca Bingo

Exeter’s Mecca bingo reopened following lockdown on the weekend of the 25th July. The North street venue is open every day from 10am until 10pm, except Sundays when they don’t open until 11am.

You can of course go there to play a traditional game of bingo, or you can go along and play popingo, where players literally pop in for an hour to play a game.

Mecca has been incredibly mindful of the impact that the pandemic may have had on its patrons. When they reopened they instituted ‘Mecca Cares’ sessions, where players who were nervous about coming back out into public could come in for a quieter session earlier in the day, where the capacity is reduced and players can even grab a free cuppa.

Batty Bingo

Incredibly popular amongst Exeter’s student population are the ‘Batty Bingo’ club nights that Mecca runs after hours for over 18 year olds only.

The aim of the night is to mix the atmosphere of a club with a spectacular bingo experience! The description for the next event promises drag queens, midget dancers, flamboyant presenters and awesome drinks deals.

The events are reduced in capacity when compared to the pre-lockdown events, but it’s still a great way to feel a little bit like everything is normal again.

Online

For some of us, the idea of going out to a public event is still unthinkable, but we still crave the company of our friends and to be able to have some fun!

If that sounds like you, there are some great options for playing bingo online. Check out bingositesreviewer.com, which is a site dedicated to reviewing online bingo sites, so that you don’t need to waste your time playing on sites that aren’t so great.

Alternatively, you could always organise a virtual bingo night with your friends. All you’ll need to do is get everyone together on a call (we know… tall order sometimes!) and use an online bingo card generator to create and print bingo cards for you all to use. Your caller can then use a random number generator to tell them which numbers to call, and there you have it, your own bingo game!

You could choose to play for money, for dares, for favours … or anything else you like!

In Your Home

If you live with other people or are happy to have others in your home (subject to lockdown rules, of course) then hosting a bingo party at home can be a wonderful way to get everyone together.

You can easily make your own bingo balls and cards, or if you think you might want to regularly host bingo nights then you can pick up everything you need online.

Open some wine, put out some snacks and there you have it - bingo night in the comfort of your own home!